Tubular hot-water heater.



Patented Aug. 8, I899.

J. E. EVANS &. W. CURTIS. TUBULAR HOT WATER HEATER.

Applicatian Med May 2, 1898,)

2"Sheets$heet I.

(No Model.)-

WITNESSES Q 42 y m No. 630,674. Patented Aug. 8, I899,

J. E. EVANS &. W. CURTIS.

TUBULAR HOT WATER HEATER. (Ap plicatinn filed May 2, 1899.)

\No Model.) 2 Shoots-Sheet 2.

WITNESSES INVENIORS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES E. EVANS AND WILLIAM CURTIS, or DULUTH, MINNESOTA.

TUBULAR HOT-WATER HEATER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 630,674, dated August 8, 1899. Application filed May 2, 1899. Serial No. 715,349. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JAMES E. EVANS and WILLIAM CURTIS, citizens of the United States, residing at Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tubular Hot-Water Heaters; and we do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to hot-water heaters; and it consists of certain novel constructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts, as will ,be hereinafter more fully described and specifically claimed.

The objects of ourinvention are to produce a hot-water heater which is exceedingly compact and yet having a largeand efiective heating-surface and a short and lively circulation, whereby a superior heater is secured, which can be operated with a less amount of fuel, occupy less space, and produce more quickly a greater and more constant heat than other hot-water heaters now on the market.

Another object of our invention is to so construct and arrange the tubes that a great number of tubes can be employed in a comparatively small space and as vertical as possible and yet extend over and be in line of the heat from'the grate.

We accomplish these objects by the con-. struction shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hot-water heater constructed in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the return water-legs and connecting-pipes. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a slightlyqnodified form of our heater, and Fig. 4. is aside elevation of the upper hot-water tubes leading to the discharge.

As stated above, one of the main objects of our invention is to secure as many pipes as possible and arrange them as compactly and as nearly vertical as possible and yet have themextend over and be. brought in contact with the central line of the heat,- so that a large heating-surface is secured.

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the apparatus consists of a base portion A, comprising two horizontally-arranged water-legs a a, connected by a pipe 0. with right and left hand threads.

on one end with suitable caps, which may be removed for cleaning out the said water-legs, and the other end of one of the legs, as a, is provided with a pipe connection or intake w for water from a suitable source of supply. The pipe 0&2 is connected by screw-threaded nipples,by reason of which construction the 'parts can be readily assembled. and disconnected. The water-legs a a are provided with apertures a a for the reception of tubes a a. v The tubes a are approximately short and extend practically vertically and are provided on their upper ends with two-way nipples a", into which are screwed tubes a a The tubes of are inclined toward the center of the heater and extend upwardly and are formed with nipples a at their upper ends, bymeans of which they are connected with the drum amthrough short connecting-pipes a, which are right and left hand threaded, as are all the connections to facilitate connecting up and disconnecting. The tubes a areinclined toward the center of the heater and are carried upwardly to a point on a line with the drum a at which point they are provided 4 with nipples a in which are screwed short connecting-pipes a having on their upper ends screw-threaded nipples at, in which latter are secured inwardly and upwardly inclined tubes 0., which latter are provided on theinupper ends with nipples (1 in which are screwed short'section's of pipe at, the latter being secured in a horizontally-arranged drum a". The drums 61. and a are connected by a vertical pipe 0. as clearly shown in Fig. 4., which pipe screws into nipples a a, provided on the horizontally-arranged drums a f d The said drums a a" are arranged centrally of the heater and directly in line with the heat and products of combustion, so that the water will be very rapidly heated. By employing two drums the water is divided and a smaller amount thus presented at different points to the action of the heat, which greatly facilitates the heating operation. The upper drum 0, leads the water to the different points of distribution.

Itwill be seen from the foregoing description that the tubes at enter the drum a and that the tubes at a enter the upper drum a".

The legs a a are provided.

Tubes a a fiand (1 are arranged on the opposite side of the heater, similarly to the tubes a a and a so that the tubes do not extend one above another in parallel lines, but are out of alinement and present the greatest possible heating-surface to the action of the fire, and are exceedingly compactly arranged and as nearly vertical as it is possible to arrange them and yet bring all the tubes at some point in their length centrally over the heat.

In Fig. 3 we have shown a slightly-modified form of construction, in that longer lengths of tubes are employed, and consequently fewer connecting-nipples are required,and the tubes 1) in said modification are slightly differently constructed and arranged, as shown, and enter'the lower drum a on the same side on which they are arranged in the apparatus'instead of on the opposite side, as in Fig. 1. Vith these slight modifications the constructions are practically the same.

Our invention is confined to a hot-water heater and is not intended as a steam-boiler, as to makean eifective steam-boiler it is necessary to return the water a second time through the boiler.

Havingnow described our invention, what weclaini'as new, and desire to secure by Letters'Patent', is

1. In a tubular hot-water heater, the combihatio'n of two'centrally and horizontally arranged water-drums located one above the other, horizontal return'water-legs forming a supporting-base for the heater, two sets of tubes connected to the water-legs and inclined upwardly and inwardly andinter'secting each other, one set of the tubes entering the lower water-drum and the other set eutering the upper water-drum andanother set of tubes extending from one set' of the firstmentioned tubes andinclined upwardly and entering the upper drum which latter drum other at approximately the center of the apparatus, one set of the tubes from each of the legs entering the lower drum and the other set entering the upperdrum and athird set of tubes connected to one setof the tubes from each of the legs which crosseach other near the center of the apparatus and extend to the upper drum by means'of short sections of pipe connected to the upper ends of said tubes and extcndingupwardly, substantially as described.

3. In a tubular hot-water heater, the combination of suitable return-wate-r-legs formin g a supporting-base for the heater, two sets of tubes connected to the water-legs andinclined upwardly and inwardly andintersecting each other one set of the tubes entering one water-drum and the other set entering another water-drum arrangedabove the firstmentioned drum, and another set of tubes extending from one set of the first-mentioned tubes and inclined upwardly and entering the upper drum, which latterdrum leads to the discharge, and a vertical pipe connecting't'he two drums,substa'ntially as described.

In testimony whereof we hereunto-afli'x our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

J AMES E. EVANS; VI'LLIAM CURTIS. Witnesses:

JAMES T. \VATSON, JOHN JoNEs. 

